San Fransisco, July 22, 2001
The new Audi direct fuel injection (FSI), which debuted during the triumph at the
Le Mans 24 Hour race, has now proved its worth in the American Le Mans
Series (ALMS): Rinaldo Capello and Tom Kristensen won the race at Sears
Point ahead of their team mates Frank Biela and Emanuele Pirro in the
companion Infineon Audi R8.
The race was full of thrilling action at the front. During the entire 2:45 hours of
racing, both Infineon Audi R8 diced hard on the undulating Californian circuit in
the middle of America’s vineyards. Especially Tom Kristensen and Emanuele
Pirro executed an exciting duel over many laps.
Tom Kristensen set excellent lap times, although the victory for the #1 Infineon
Audi R8 was settled not on the track but in the pitlane: The crew of Capello and
Kristensen had chosen the more fortunate strategy. At the end, there was a
margin of less than seven seconds between the two Infineon R8.
The Champion team also showed strongly with their 2000-spec Audi R8. Andy
Wallace and former Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert achieved fourth position
after fighting for a place on the podium with the fastest Panoz.
There is not much time to relax for drivers and mechanics of Audi Sport North
America: On 5 August, the next round of the American Le Mans Series starts in
Portland (Oregon).
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